ORBzine Now and Again February 2001
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This is the pilot, part one of a 2-episode story. Our hero is John Goodman, a fat boring middle-aged Insurance executive. One day he is in a horrific accident, and the US Government offers him a deal. They can rebuild him to be stronger, faster, more agile, etc - and in return he has to work for them as a secret agent. The only catch is that he is officially dead, and can have no contact with his friends or family from his old life. This is a direct take on the 1970s show Six Million Dollar Man , but the emphasis so far is on the character's emotional side rather than on the action-adventure of the older series. Of course, this might well change; after all, Steve Austin once attempted suicide in his series. Eric Close, star of Dark Skies , plays the younger version of Goodman's character. The scene which introduces him, where his new boss [the token black guy, who went on to play the US President in 24] sings Karen Carpenter's Close to You, is a gem.
Our hero [Eric Close, star of Dark Skies ] finally gets to do his stuff. He takes on an evil Japanese OAP who uses SARIN-filled eggs. Yes, this show looks more like Six Million Dollar Man every time. Also, he gets to meet his wife and his best buddy [Gerrit Graham]. .
Finally we get the third part of this show. For something that ITV no doubt paid an awful lot of money for, they've made no attempt to give it decent scheduling. This is basically the climax of a 3-ep story. The confrontation of super-man vs egg-man. The fact that this story, which would have been okay in a single ep [but seem too drawn-out for a 2-ep pilot] has been stretched to THREE epoisodes highlights pretty much everything wrong with the show.
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The hero's mission this week is personal, he wants to get his ex-boss to pay out the life insurance to the hero's widow. How he does it is a bit contrived, but mildly entertaining. Despite its potential [albeit potential to be a straight-out clone of Six Million Dollar Man ], this show has turned out as more of an insipid drama than either SF or thriller. .
Yet more of the soap opera that fails to live up to its obvious Six Million Dollar Man inspiration. This week the villain is a self-proclaimed scientist who wants to polute the city's water supply with ... well, some kind of pollutant, I suppose. The scientist's secret weapon is a drug that can make people fearless. Doc Theo is jealous, since this can cure all phobia. Of course, since fear keeps people from doing stupidly dangerous things, dumping it in a reservoir is a bad idea. The actual plot only sytarts up about half way through the ep. The rest of it is crap about Newman's widow and orphan.
Wiseman's daughter gets struck by lightning. She thinks she ses an Angel - it's really Wiseman testing some hi-tech gear. Our hero parades around in a luminous jumpsuit. His daughter sees him and thinks he is an angel. When she tells people, they think she's crazy. That's about it, really. .
This is the Thanksgiving episode, but we have nothing to give thanks for. Eric Close and his boss pay a visit to the widow and orphan, who are having Gerrit Graham over for the big dinner. As a guest, that is. Anyhow, before they can sit down to eat the house is hijacked by a pair of gun-toting jewel thieves [a PG version of Vincent Vega and Jules Winnifield] working for the HIV-positive Capo from Oz. As you can guess, the good-guy robbers get beaten up by the self-richeous prick who used to be John Goodman. Normally in a show the script that rips off Desperate Hours and Die Hard will be held back until the final season, when the show has lost all originality. Here we are less than half way through Season One!!! .
Wiseman is given a female partner - Reiko Aylesworth . Yes, Theo is trying to wean him off the wife. Meanwhile, the wife is romanced by a lawyer type. . .
A dying man kidnaps Theo, hoping to make him transplant his brain into a new body. . . .
Theo is testing Newman for endurance in extreme heat and cold. However, he still denies Newman a diet of sufficient energy. Theo falls for an African-American lady scientist, but needs Newman to play Cyrano de Bergerac. However, he denies Newman the right to celebrate his marriage anniversary. Wiseman's widow tries to relive the days of her youth. In a tame and unsuccessful way. As a pointless subplot, the teaser and tag contain spontaneous human combustions.
The Spontaneous Human Combustions continue. The baffled cops call in Theo and Newman. Newman, with his insurance investigator skills, refuses to ignore the puzzle. The trail leads back to Tamara Gorski and a religious cult. Theo has a religious experience. Gerrit Graham takes Wiseman's daughter for a driving lesson. . 13. 1-13 40306-013 28 Jan 00 I Am the Greatest 14. 1-14 40306-014 11 Feb 00 Film at Eleven
We take a flashback into an alternative universe - What if John Goodman had taken the car to work? Doc Theo actually bonds with him! .
Gerrit Graham takes the widow to a fundraiser party. Eric Close goes undercover as a Dot-Commer at the same party. James Rebhorn plays the US General that the Doc is helping. Faith Prince also makes an appearance. .
This is the episode with the African-American kid who thinks he's a superhero. Lots of possibilities for the story, you should think - especially when he uncovers illegal arms shipments and sees Michael the superhuman in action. Unfortunately, most of the screen time goes to Gerrit Graham's comical endeavours to buy and sell on the Internet stock market. .
Lizzard [Bob Balaban - Face of Fear is Doc Theo's College buddy and friendly rival. . . .
Wiseman is going stir crazy without any reading material. . . .
White-collar men in NYC are being wiped out by insect attacks. The Doc is called in to consult. Of note, the Doc has finally decided he can allow Wiseman to read newspapers and even do the crossword! The daughter is in the middle of some teen angst. She goes on a school trip to the Natural History Museum, and meets a scientist who specialises in entomology. . 21. 1-21 40306-021 28 Apr 00 The Bugmeister, Part Bee 22. 1-22 40306-022 5 May 00 The Eggman Cometh
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